England captain eyes final showdown with Australia

Nat Sciver-Brunt has said she "literally threw everything" at being able to make her comeback for England's Women's T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa on Thursday.

Australia await the winners in Sunday's final at Lord's.

A minor tear to the England captain's left calf on April 29 sidelined Sciver-Brunt for the early part of the summer and a recurrence of the injury a fortnight ago led to her missing England's last three group-stage matches.

While England, like the Aussies, topped their group with five wins out of five, Sciver-Brunt has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure she would be back in the XI for the sharp end of the tournament.

As well as the usual tricks to speed up recovery such as eating right, taking supplements, wearing compression socks and undergoing physiotherapy, she has undergone magnetic resonance therapy, placing her left leg in a portable MRI-like machine which uses electromagnetic energy to alter cell behaviour.

The 33-year-old batted for half an hour in the nets on Wednesday morning but did not take part in any fielding drills, leaving question marks over whether she is ready to lead England at the Oval.

But Sciver-Brunt said: "I've been put through my recovery paces and worked really hard to get myself to this position. Everything has gone to plan as well as it could do.

"We used various different methods to get the recovery right. Even things that have a small chance of working. We literally threw everything at it.

"We tested it enough to be comfortable. What will happen out on the pitch will happen. I'm really happy with where I am at, physically. We're confident that I'm fully fit."

Charlie Dean has led England to three successive wins but will now return to the rank and file, with Sophia Dunkley, who benefited from Sciver-Brunt's injury to come into the side, likely to drop back out.

It would be harsh on Dunkley, who top-scored with 57 against Scotland and put on an unbroken 128 with Danni Wyatt-Hodge as England laid down a marker ahead of the knockouts by thrashing New Zealand on Saturday.

England are favourites to advance, although South Africa have form for upsetting the odds, beating Sciver-Brunt's side in the semi-finals of the 2023 edition and last year's 50-over World Cup.

Having finished as runners-up at the last three global tournaments across both white-ball formats, Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt said they would draw confidence from their previous success against England.

"We've been able to beat England twice in knockout phases in World Cups, so it's not like it's super foreign territory for us," Wolvaardt said on Wednesday.

"I think we can sort of beat anyone on the day when we play some very good cricket.

"So just trying to think back to those tournaments, what we did well in those semifinals, what sort of mindset we were in.

"But I think this is a team that really is able to rise to the big occasions, so hopefully everyone's at their best tomorrow."

Wolvaardt personally has not yet reached her usual heights with the bat in the tournament, having hit 117 runs at 23.40 with a strike rate of 107.33 across her five innings thus far.

She admitted to a degree of frustration but said she hoped both she and her team had their best game ahead of them.

"I'm probably a bit annoyed with my tournament because I felt like I was in pretty good form coming into the competition and then had a couple of frustrating knocks, maybe just trying to hit it a bit too hard," Wolvaardt said.

"That's just the pressure of a World Cup. It's hard to stay super calm and chilled, but hopefully I'm able to do it tomorrow.

"I think it's not like I've forgotten how to bat, it's just maybe one or two things haven't gone my way and then got a bit frustrated in the middle, so I just need to stay nice and calm tomorrow and maybe one or two nice shots and then I'm back.

"I think what's exciting about it is we've made the semis and we probably haven't even been at our best as a team yet.

"We've found a way to win games, which has been good

"Getting to play the hosts in a tournament is always pretty exciting. I think they'll have a bit more pressure on them with all of that support, so hopefully we can put together a good game of cricket." 

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026

Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson

Australia's Group 1 fixtures

June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs

June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets

June 20: beat Netherlands by 98 runs

June 24: beat Pakistan by 113 runs

June 28: beat India by six wickets

Semi-final 1: Australia beat West Indies by eight wickets

Semi-final 2: England v South Africa, The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)

Final: Australia v TBC, Lord's, London, July 5 (12:30am July 6 AEST)

Click here for the full tournament schedule

All matches will be broadcast on Amazon's Prime Video